This article from EWeek Mid Market centers on ways the smaller businesses can capitalize on green practices. Since most green concepts like solar panels and building retrofitting can be costly and the ROI’s long term, this article offers relativley quick changes your company can make, resulting in a shorter term ROI and green marketability.

They give five ways:

The first of which is recycling. Cradle to Cradle warns against what usually happends in this process, which is downcycling: the use of recycling makes us feel less bad and allows us to consume more, while most of it eventually ends up in a land fill or is burned off anyways. This Mid Market article, addresses the belief that the eventual recycling of your products should be taken into consideration before production in order to allow for more effective recycling oppurtunities.

Second, better management of heating and cooling can be regulated through up to date digital systems.

Third, use automated systems to shut down and stand by computers.

Fourth, the most expensive of the five, is virtualization:

“VMware, the largest virtualization player by far…claims that for every server virtualized, customers can save about 7,000 kilowatt hours, or four tons of CO2 emissions, every year. It also claims that PCs virtualized and hosted on servers can reduce power consumption and cost by 35%.”

Also, fifth, “replace aging servers and PC’s” since newer models are extremely more efficient. This step can cost more but can dramatically reduce energy use.

Finally, they point out that businesses should check with utility companies to find out exactly what incentives they are offered. Be sure to figure in rebates when updating and determining costs.

Also, why not use Green Collar Economy to find green businesses that can help you, or ask another company who has made the changes what worked for them.

Thanks to Mid Market for publishing these profitable and efficient ideas.

According to AIN Online, in an effort to continue the life of airplane parts and materials after the planes have been retired, the Airbus company has made a commitment to ensuring that 85% of airplane parts are reused in some way.

Previously, a maximum of 65% was reused and the rest “destroyed” but the French research project PAMELA (process for advanced management of end-of-life aircraft) has realized that 20% more can actually be recycled.

Airbus

“is now looking for ways to encourage the establishment of dismantling companies around the world…Of course, the more metal that can be extracted from the carcass for recycling, the more profitable will be the dismantling process, and advanced sorting of the metals at the source makes them more valuable than mixed metals.”

They explain in detail the process of first decommissioning the plane, removing the engine and turbines and such, followed by the final dismantling phase.

“Aware that some 1,200 Airbuses will be retired in the next 20 years, Airbus management has made planet-friendly aircraft dismantling part of the consortium’s general environmental policy.”

PAMELA also requests that the Airbus designers take into consideration this process in the first place to avoid later recycling efforts.